Summary
In the wake of its closure,Volitionreleased a letter to the community. In its 30 years as a game development studio,Volitiondeveloped 18 titles, which include many successful games likeDescent, Red Faction, FreeSpace, The Punisher,andSaints Row.
Volition began its operations in 1993 as Parallax Software Corporation, formed by Mike Kulas and Matt Toschlog. After developing hits likeDescentandDescent 2, the two decided to part ways, with Mike Kulas retaining Parallax and renaming it to Volition. In August 2000, THQ acquired the studio, and this led to the creation of theRed FactionandSaints Rowfranchises. Following THQ’s bankruptcy filing in 2012, Koch Media bought Volition, where it became part of the Deep Silver division. In 2018, Koch Media was acquired by THQ Nordic, along with several other game development companies that became a separate entity called THQ Nordic AB. This entity got rebranded to Embracer Group to avoid confusion with THQ Nordic GmbH. In November 2022,Embracer Group moved Volition to Gearbox Software, a video game publisher best known for theBorderlandsfranchise.
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Less than a year later,Embracer Group shut down Volitionas part of its restructuring program, which aims to strengthen the media holding company’s position in the gaming industry. TheSaints Rowdeveloper took to Twitter, sharing a long, heartfelt farewell letter in an image that also contains the company logo. The letter started by reflecting upon the studio’s 30-year-long history while also stating how some games become bigger than the people or company that made them.
In the letter, Volition also acknowledged the input and hard work of the people who were with the studio in the past 30 years. It attributed the success of its games to the team of artists, creators, designers, and storytellers who helped the studio come up with new and amazing concepts. The team has been responsible for various commercial hits, fromRed Faction: GuerrillatoSaints Row: The Third, which has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. Toward the end of the letter, Volition extended its gratitude to the gaming community. It also thanked the gamers for their valuable feedback and insight, even when they were unhappy with certain titles, especially thepoorly-receivedSaints Rowreboot.
AsVolitioncloses its doors, many fans would fondly remember all the successful titles the studio has rolled out in the past three decades. One of the manyvideo game companies owned by Embracer Groupmay be tasked with reimagining the fan-favoriteSaints Rowfranchise, or the Swedish media house may shelve it forever.
